Tradition holds that crustaceans, octopus, clams, truffles, and snails are eaten raw, while sea bass, tuna, and swordfish are prepared grilled, baked, or in acqua pazza. Mussels (especially the famous Taranto mussels) are among the stars of the quintessential Bari dish: tiella or tiedda, with rice and potatoes.
Then there are the first courses: like orecchiette alle cime di rapa, strascinati with ragù, and other handmade pasta dishes. Honest and genuine aromas and flavors also come from the gardens: young broad beans to boil and turn into a puree that accompanies chicory (another staple of poor peasant cuisine); chickpeas, lampascioni, zucchini flowers, and turnip tops that season the indispensable handmade orecchiette. From the inland, the countryside, and the Murgia plateaus come kid and lamb meats cooked on the spit, served with cardoncelli mushrooms and wild asparagus. To enhance everything, the unmistakable rich and full-bodied extra virgin olive oil of Apulia.
In terms of wines, Primitivo, Negroamaro, Salice Salentino, and other generous red nectars make an already rich table even more special.
Gourmet addresses spread throughout the region include: Alberosole, Piccinni, Ai Due Ghiottoni, in Bari; Il Melograno, in Monopoli; Da Tuccino, in Polignano a Mare; Da Sergio and Peccato Divino, in Otranto; Bolina, in Tricase Porto (Lecce); Rua de li Travaj, in Patù, in the hinterland of Santa Maria di Leuca; Vesta, in Vieste on the Gargano (Foggia); Al Gatto Rosso and il Caffè, in Taranto.
